Melody
by logarhythm
Summary: You would be surprised what two broken and emotionally scarred girls can do with a flute, a piano and an abandoned rose garden. You would be even more surprised what two guys can do with those two girls. Maybe they could even... heal them? AU MxN RxH [HIATUS]
1. The Rose Garden

**OH MY GOD I FINALLY FINISHED IT! I'm so sorry it took me so long to upload this, but it's 10 1/2 pages long on Word, and it took me forever to write... T.T But it's finished! :D**

**This was probably the most popular of all my ideas, so I hope people like it. ;) And boy, was it hard to keep Mikan calm without going OOC... =.=**

**DISCLAIMER: I'm only gonna say it once. And I don't even think I need to say it, do I?**

* * *

><p>"-ga." <em>What was that?<em> "-uuga!" _Why does that voice seem so annoyingly familiar?_ "Hyuuga!" _It seems angry. Not that it's any of my concern. That annoying voice can go to hell for all I care. _"NATSUME HYUUGA!"

The whole class flinched at the sheer hatred spewing from all corners of the words. Some of the milder teens even jumped out of their seats or fainted from shock.

However, said boy merely raised his head two inches above his hands lazily clasped behind his head, letting his favourite manga slip from in front of his face, and grunted an annoyed, "What?"

The class couldn't suppress a shiver as the scariest student in the entire academy growled at the scariest teacher on the entire board of staff.

"Hyuuga," the teacher spat his name, "apparently you think that sleeping in my lessons is acceptable."

"... Yeah, I do," the student all but snarled.

The teacher popped a vein. "You _do_, do you? Well, maybe you might reconsider after I've finished with you." A girl whimpered at the back of the class. "_Detention_, Hyuuga. And if you even _think_ of skipping, you will find yourself in the hands of _him_."

"Easy, Jinno. There's no need to pull that card, is there?" an annoyingly cheery voice sang from the open door. He winked as all eyes turned to him.

"Narumi! What do you think you're doing? The last I heard, Math is _my_ class, _not_ yours!" Jinno seethed.

"Aww, I'm just protecting my dear students, that's all! Am I not even allowed to help them fend off aggressive monsters anymore?" Narumi whined with a childish pout.

"You..." Everyone cringed in their seats, subconsciously shying away from the 'aggressive monster'. They all knew only Narumi could pull that stunt without ending up in hospital. This was one of the rare times they were glad of having Narumi as their homeroom teacher.

"Anyway!" Narumi sang, attracting the class's attention. "Natsume-kun can't have detention with you, because he's got the whole week already booked up with detentions." Narumi sighed, while pathetically attempting to suppress a smirk.

"With who?" Jinno spat.

"Well, today, next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday he has it with me, Thursday he has it with Misaki-kun and Friday with the High School Principal," Narumi chimed, before grinning and strutting into his classroom with ease, as if completely oblivious to the murderous aura surrounding his colleague. "So, class, the rest of this class is now a _free period_!" And with that, Narumi almost _skipped_ out of the classroom humming some off-key tune and dragging the red-faced Jinno out of the wooden double-door, completely ignoring the terrifying screech of '_WHAT?_' from his companion.

It took a few seconds of deafening silence before the class erupted into relieved sighs, shrieks of laughter and choruses of 'what the hell?'.

That is, except Natsume Hyuuga.

"Well, I know you hate Narumi's guts, but at least it's better than detention with Jinno, right?" his best friend tried to console him. At his friend's responding '_that's pathetic_' glance, he carried on. "I mean, Narumi doesn't even make you do anything. You just have to sit there quietly and put up with Naru's talking. With Jinno, well, who knows what kind of awful job he'd make you do."

"I guess." Though Natsume's words contradicted his actions, and he continued to stare out of the window, sulking.

His best friend just sighed at turned his attention back to the rest of the class in front, since he was sitting _on_ the desk at the far back of the class. There were two empty seats on his and Natsume's desk, since no one dared to sit next to either of the drop-dead gorgeous boys.

"Ruka." His name snapped him out of his trance, and he calmly turned his head towards his friend below him on his right. He didn't need to reply, as Natsume was sure to carry on anyways. "I still can't believe that damn Naru would say that. Pretending I have detention all next week. He's probably going to make sure I get the detention, too, just to make it seem more _realistic_," Natsume huffed, and crossed his arms over his chest.

Ruka laughed at his best friend's childishness. "So what? Detention never bothered you before." Ruka smiled, amused.

"That doesn't mean I _liked _it."

_Brrring! Brrring! Brrring!_

Both friends grimaced at the bell, and resignedly got out of their seats and made their way slowly to their next lesson. It wasn't like their teachers were going to punish them for being late. They were too scared to.

"So, Natsume, it's been bugging me for a while now, but I need to ask you something," Ruka started, his tone light, but his expression thoughtful.

"What?" Natsume asked, his tone considerably softer than the one he had used earlier in the classroom with Jinno.

"The thing is... I was just wondering if- umm... If you... liked someone?" Ruka stumbled over his words and looked down, slightly embarrassed at his own question.

Natsume raised an eyebrow in surprise. If there had been anything he had expected Ruka to say, it was not that. "No. There isn't. Why?"

"I-I was just... wondering, you know. You've been acting a little weird recently, that's all."

"Well you'll be glad to know it has nothing whatsoever to do with a girl. My attention to you will remain unwavering," Natsume drawled sarcastically, a slight smirk playing on his lips, an amused, teasing look in his deep crimson eyes.

"Natsume! I didn't mean it that way!" Ruka huffed, though he was smiling.

"Of course."

"Really!"

"Whatever."

"Natsume!"

"I wasn't even implying that. It was your brain that worked it out."

"Fine then! What _is_ bothering you? I'm your best friend so I have a right to know!" Ruka turned to look Natsume in the eye, determination and concern evident in his shockingly blue irises.

Natsume sighed, defeated, and turned to walk towards the window. He propped his chin up on his palms, leaning on the plastic windowsill. "It's... nothing. I've just been getting this weird feeling lately. I don't know how to explain it. It's sort of like... something's going to happen."

Ruka blinked. "What sort of something?" he asked, before strolling over to window himself.

"I don't know. But it's something important."

"Your dad always claimed you had the sixth sense," Ruka teased, before becoming serious. "Do you think something bad will happen?"

"Maybe. It feels... like something good, but it has this... depressing mood."

Ruka just stared, not knowing quite how to respond to Natsume's confusing explanation.

Natsume sighed, and smirked slightly upon seeing Ruka's baffled expression. "Think of it this way. It's like reading a happy story while listening to sad music. It makes the story seem kind of melancholy. That's what it feels like." Natsume averted his gaze back to the scenery outside the second-floor window.

Ruka paused briefly, before nodding in understanding. But his expression became one of curiosity when he noticed Natsume's eyes widen. "What is it?"

"The garden," was Natsume's irritatingly short reply.

"What about the garden? Hang on, which one?" For Ruka, it seemed that for every question he persuaded Natsume to answer, Natsume created three more for him to get annoyed about.

"That one." Ruka followed Natsume's finger, and his eyes settled on what looked like a giant greenhouse, sort of a semi-circular prism, on the edge of a field opposite the school.

"Oh; that's the abandoned rose garden. No one goes there anymore." Ruka shrugged.

"Why?" Natsume asked, his gaze never leaving the mysterious building.

"Apparently it's haunted." Natsume shot him a skeptical look. Ruka ignored it. "People say they hear strange noises coming from inside at night."

"Like what?"

"Sometimes it's a haunting melody, sometimes it sounds like a girl crying. Occasionally some people even claim to have heard screams."

Natsume didn't reply. He focused his gaze back on the garden, as if trying to see right through the frosted glass panes.

He was in such deep thought, in fact, that it took Ruka three tries to get any response out of Natsume at all.

"Natsume!" Natsume almost jumped at the sound of his name.

"Sorry."

Ruka sighed. He didn't look very apologetic at all.

There was a short silence between them; a comfortable silence, and the type of silence that Natsume enjoyed.

That was why Ruka was so surprised when Natsume himself broke it. "You want to ditch the rest of our lessons today? I'm not really in the mood for fan girls."

"You're _never_ in the mood for fan girls." Ruka smirked. At Natsume's '_I'm serious_' expression, Ruka smiled and softly replied, "Sure."

* * *

><p>"So, where do you wanna go?" Ruka asked, smiling playfully at his companion, who was in a surprisingly amiable mood.<p>

"I don't know. We should probably get something to eat first, since we haven't had lunch." Natsume strolled along the pavement, hands in pockets, as he stared at the sky.

"Yeah. I'm guessing McDonald's?"

"Yeah."

"... You know, maybe you should look where you're going while you're walking. You'd be less likely to walk into dustbins that way."

"Oh, shut up, Ruka."

They arrived at McDonald's five minutes later, Natsume still nursing the purple bruise forming on his left knee.

Ruka told him to grab a table while he orders, so he plopped down at a vacant table, and thought about what he saw earlier. _There was something about that garden,_ he thought._ A rose garden... was it?_ He sighed, and raked a hand lazily through his hair._ I swear... it was like it was giving off some kind of aura. I know this sounds completely insane, but it was almost as if... something was calling me there. That's it; I'm definitely going there after we've eaten._

"Natsume?" His thoughts were interrupted when an unstable Ruka came stumbling up to him with two trays that he was barely managing to keep upright. "Do you think you could, you know, help me? I know how interesting it is, but do you think you could possibly tear your eyes off that empty table for just one second?"

Natsume gave him an irritated glare, but stood up to help him anyway.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, Ruka was still brooding over his best friend's suspicious reaction towards the abandoned rose garden. Fed up with ignoring the nagging feeling, he decided to confront Natsume about it. "Why are you so bothered about that rose garden?"<p>

Natsume almost spat out his coke. "What?"

"Your reaction when you saw the rose garden. Why are you so interested in it?"

Natsume saw the stubborn side of his best friend creeping out; he sighed in defeat. "Another one of those feelings," he began, nibbling at his fries. "I got that same feeling I told you about earlier. But when I saw that rose garden, the feeling was... amplified."

"Do you think... that 'important thing' has something to do with the rose garden?" Ruka scrunched up his face as he tried to fit the pieces together.

"Yeah. I'm going there after I've finished."

"Which will be in a few months from now if you don't hurry up."

"Shut up."

* * *

><p>To innocent bystanders, they just looked like two teenagers bunking school strolling comfortably along the concrete jungle, dumping their rubbish in a nearly bin, seemingly in no hurry to get to their particular destination. But that was far from the truth. In all reality, it took Natsume all he had not to burst into a sprint at a moment's notice and not stop until he reached the rose garden, which was roughly a mile away.<p>

But, of course, that would be suspicious. And no way was he going to let Ruka know just how eager he was to arrive.

So after forty-five minutes of silent torture, he almost collapsed of relief when he saw the giant structure looming over them.

"So... here we are," Ruka stated, his voice slightly rough from lack of use.

"... Yeah..." Natsume mumbled, his voice light and distant. Whatever slight feeling he'd had when he first noticed the garden now seemed like nothing but a pinhead in comparison to the overwhelming mountain of a feeling he had right now. He was surprised at the physical effects of such an amount of mental pressure - he found it difficult to remain standing under the looming building.

As if sensing his tension, Ruka opted to subtly warn him of the feeling that might ensue should he set foot inside, "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The two simultaneously drew in a plump breath and strode towards the twelve-foot glass door in front of them.

Ruka went in first, let out the deep breath, and opened the door for Natsume, who was slightly more hesitant. But his strong will and stubborn want to see what was drawing him inside won over, and he slowly stepped inside, his long, graceful stride tarnished by the jerk of his body as he entered.

Natsume wasn't exactly the healthiest of people, so he was used to painful stomachs and constant throbbing headaches. But that was nothing compared to what he felt right now. In fact, he would consider it a birthday present compared to the impossibly concentrated pain tearing through his body like a lightning bolt.

"Hey... Natsume, are you okay?" Ruka's concerned voice broke through the searing pain, and Natsume was able to pull himself up into a slightly awkward standing position, one arm wrapped tightly around his skinny waist, the other fisted against his right thigh, bracing himself, and preventing himself from collapsing.

"I'm... fine," Natsume grunted, much to the skeptical worry of his best friend.

"You're obviously not. Come on, you're going back outside." Determination was evident in both Ruka's expression and tone, and Natsume knew he could do little to resist.

"No, Ruka, I-" His sentence was cut off by a heavy, gasping breath. In his current dizzy state, it took him a few seconds to realise it was his own.

"You feel better now? You must do. I saw the expression on your face in there, Natsume. It was like you'd just been submerged in magma or something." Ruka chuckled, relieved that his best friend was okay.

"I'm... going back in there," Natsume whispered, still trying to recover his lost breath.

"Oh, no you're not." Natsume glared at Ruka, suddenly wishing he would just disappear so he could go back inside without tiring himself out further by arguing.

"Yes... I... am."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

Natsume suddenly lurched forward out of his slouching position, springing forward with his right leg, using Ruka's lapse of guard as means to get inside the garden as quickly as possible without physical confrontation.

Luckily for Natsume, Ruka hadn't realised that Natsume had been using the 'argument' as vital time to conserve his energy. He cursed under his breath as soon as his eyes focused on the agile boy pouncing at the open glass door, rather like a cat. A black-haired, crimson-eyed, human cat. Not that that made any sense at all.

"Dammit, Natsume!" Ruka yelled, knowing his best friend was too stubborn to let him stop him this time. In compromise, he decided to at least go in with him.

Now safely inside the garden, Natsume glanced around, wanting to know his surroundings before launching himself into something dangerous.

It was a rose garden alright - every single square inch of unused ground was covered by flourishing rose bushes. Narrow grass paths intertwined between the multi-coloured flowers, creating a maze-like interior.

If there was one thing Natsume was sure of about that garden, it was that there was something at the centre. A prize, a beast, it didn't matter to him. He just wanted to find it. No, 'want' was the wrong word. 'Need' was more appropriate.

"So... what do you plan on doing here, Natsume?" Natsume almost jumped at the sudden appearance of Ruka beside him.

"Find whatever's in the middle, I guess."

"... Right." Ruka sighed.

* * *

><p>After about twenty minutes of walking through the huge rose garden, Ruka gave up.<p>

"Come on, Natsume. There's nothing here. It's just a big, old rose garden." He crashed down at the foot of one of the taller bushes, sitting cross-legged and trying not to lean on the thorns brushing his back.

"There _is_ something here." Natsume childishly mumbled, before collapsing onto the ground next to his best friend.

There was a minute of comfortable silence, before Ruka couldn't stand it anymore.

"Are you really okay? I could tell you haven't been in good shape since you came in, and it seems to be getting worse the further in we go."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I got used to it after a while." Natsume gazed up at the glass roof, one leg stretched out, the other an arm rest. Sure, he felt like hell, but it was worth it to find out what insane thing in this rose garden was making him uncharacteristically obsessive.

Not a minute had passed before something had both Ruka's and Natsume's head snap towards the centre of the maze.

"Is that...?" Ruka started, his breath being drawn from him almost magically.

"... Yeah." Natsume finished, just as much in awe as his best friend.

It was nothing but the graceful, chiming melody of a flute and a piano, but to those boys it seemed like the world. _This is it_, Natsume thought. _The feeling I've been getting... is linked to this melody. The pain is getting worse even though I'm not moving. It's definitely those instruments._

"Ruka..."

"... Yeah?" he whispered in response.

"It's that... melody. That's the thing I've been looking for."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Natsume confirmed.

The melody swayed in the air, and rippled through their throats making it hard to breathe. The slow, majestic sound was perfect in every way and not a single wrong note was played. But the boys felt something else. Something... broken. The melody slowed to a stop, and the flute held a high, sharp, piercing note over the fading piano, one that seemed to stab you in the heart and deprive your lungs of air. A deafeningly sad note, and one the two boys knew they'd never forget. A note that sucked in all other sounds, so that all you heard was that flute, and your head felt dizzy just thinking about it. After what seemed an infinite amount of time, the flute, too, almost completely faded out, but was revived for a magnificent scale trill spiraling down and crashing to the bottom, joined by the haunting piano.

In all, it was a melody of a prodigy.

Natsume silently stood up, being careful not to scratch something on the thorns behind him. He waved his left hand slightly, motioning for Ruka to do the same. He didn't need a reminder. Ruka joined Natsume and began to lead the way to the centre of the Rose Garden, where they would find the source of Natsume's haunting feeling, the extraordinary melody, the two instruments, and, hopefully, the people who played them.

Ruka saw a flash of something moving, and they knew that if they rounded the last rose bush they would find the source of Natsume's pain, but before Natsume could reach the centre, he was pulled to the ground in a dizzy wave of nausea, and he had to give it all he had not to throw up on a nearby yellow rose bush.

"Natsume?" Ruka said, a little too loudly.

"Who're you?" a gentle, melodic voice half-whispered from a few metres away.

Ruka jumped, backing into a clump of thorns and cursing loudly. Natsume didn't move from his position, sitting curled up on the floor, for he was afraid the nausea would return with the slightest twitch.

"U-um... No one, really. Just some people who wanted to visit...?" Ruka stammered nervously.

"Do you really expect us to believe that?" another voice questioned, although hers was cold and hard, despite the fact it was barely audible.

"W-what?"

"No one comes here. Everyone believes this place is haunted, and everyone's too scared to come near this place, let alone _inside_ it," the voice continued.

"... R-right. Well, we better get going. Right, Natsume?" Ruka hurried through his words, obviously intimidated by the two almost ghost-like forms in front of them.

"N... Natsume?" the first voice repeated, seemingly in awe at the sound.

A surprised expression briefly graced Ruka's face before he smiled self-consciously and nodded. "My best friend. The one on the floor over there." He made no gestures as to where exactly he was talking about, but Natsume was pretty hard to miss, his jet-black hair and maroon layered t-shirt giving him away among the green.

The first voice spoke again. She seemed slightly more friendly (and far less intimidating) than the cold girl. "He seems to be in pain."

Ruka sighed, reminded of his best friend's idiocy, despite being a genius. "Yeah. Ever since he came in here. But he's ludicrously stubborn, so he refused to leave until he found what was in the middle of the maze - i.e. you."

The first girl slowly cast her gaze upon the crumpled boy. She stared at him for a few seconds before taking a hesitant step towards him. The second girl lurched at the movement, a disapproving look crossing her face.

Natsume flinched at every step the girl took, and his breathing became more and more ragged.

When the girl finally came to a gentle stop a foot from Natsume, she crouched down to level her head with his, and stared at him in wonder, much like how a young child would stare at an aeroplane. "Natsume," she mused, apparently completely unaware of every other being in the room.

"You're..." Natsume started, but it came out more like a rough growl than anything else. "You're... the thing... that... I've been looking for."

The girl nodded, a small smile gracing her beautiful features. "Same here."

Natsume suddenly started coughing, an overwhelming pain shooting through his spine, giving him goose bumps.

The girl's face knotted up into a frown. "You need to leave here."

"No," Natsume growled, his voice surprisingly strong.

The girl kneeling in front of him pouted in annoyance before gently lifting up Natsume's drooping chin to get a better look at him.

Natsume started at the face only a few inches away from his own. No girl had been brave enough to get this close to him before. Then again, he probably wasn't very intimidating while collapsed on the floor coughing his guts up.

The scrutinizing face closed another couple of inches, Natsume still trying uselessly to resist the urge to cough in her face. At least she didn't seem to mind.

"An allergic reaction," the girl said, a satisfied look on her face, drawing back from the uncomfortably close quarters with Natsume, although still less than a metre away.

The other girl sighed. "I thought so."

The two boys exchanged confused glances, before Ruka spoke up. "To what? Surely an allergic reaction wouldn't have affected him that strongly as soon as he steppe foot inside here."

The second girl looked at him in a way that a man might look at a rat. "Incense. We like it, but apparently your best friend has incredibly sensitive lung tissue."

"Oh... Now that I think about it, he always starts coughing as soon as he's anywhere near any smoke at all. Traffic fumes, barbeques, cigarettes..." Ruka mused, surprised at the apparently harmless assailant.

"Natsume~!" Before he could put too much thought into it, however, the first girl caught everyone's attention by singing Natsume's name, and promptly giggling at it.

"Idiot." The second girl strode over to Natsume and the friendly girl, who was now in fits of laughter, grabbed her by one of her auburn pigtails and dragged her away from the object of her amusement.

"Wait, wait!" the girl shouted, recovering from her outburst and getting up.

"What?" the second girl asked, irritation plain in her voice.

"There's no use just walking away now, is there? Let's at least introduce ourselves properly!"

The second girl sighed, but grudgingly stomped after the other one.

"My name's Mikan." The first girl smiled, her auburn eyes shining. "It's nice to meet you."

"I'm Ruka." Ruka grinned, blushing slightly from nervousness.

"Natsume," Natsume grunted, now on his feet, holding Mikan's handkerchief to his nose.

"Hotaru Imai," the cold girl stated, her lavender eyes seemingly piercing right through them.

"Nice to meet you two." Ruka smiled. "So, Natsume, now that the mystery's solved, can we go?"

Natsume shot Ruka a glare. "Sure, I guess."

Both boys turned on their heels, Ruka waving behind him.

If there was one thing all four of them wanted, it was to meet each other again.

* * *

><p><strong>Didja laaaaik it? :D<strong>

**I'm guessing this will be a story with slow updates - maybe every month or so. So please bear with me on this! :)**

**Review~~~? Otherwise I won't update because I'll think no one is reading it. ;3**


	2. Meet Again

**I'm so sorry! I know I said It would be a month at max, but it turned out much longer... T.T**

**I have the whole story planned out now, so updates should be quicker... You might be interested to know there are exactly twenty chapters planned :3**

**Disclaimer~**

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><p>"HYUUGA!"<p>

Just another typical day. Jinno yelling at Natsume for sleeping in class, Natsume ignoring him and going back to sleep and Ruka apologizing for him.

Well, it _would_ be just another typical day, if it wasn't for the fact that there was a certain person Natsume couldn't get out of his head.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO _PAY __ATTENTION _WHEN I'M SPEAKING TO YOU!"

Of course, that only got him in more trouble.

"Sorry, Jinno-sensei!" Ruka apologized, before yanking at Natsume's forearm and literally dragging him out of the godforsaken classroom.

When they were safely out of earshot, i.e. at his favourite sakura tree, Ruka came to an abrupt stop in front of Natsume, and turned to face him.

However, he didn't say anything, so Natsume took it upon himself to start the conversation. "What?"

"Don't act innocent with me, Natsume!"

Natsume was baffled by Ruka's cryptic answer. "What the _hell_ are you talking about?"

Ruka made a loud noise of frustration before almost yelling, "What is it this time?"

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about, Ruka."

"You've been acting strangely ever since we got back from the rose garden yesterday. You haven't been answering my questions, you've been walking into things left, right and centre and you were late for school this morning! I.e. three things you _never_ do!"

Natsume shifted in his spot. If he told Ruka he couldn't stop thinking about that girl, Ruka would surely just laugh at him. No, there was definitely no way he could tell him. "I was just... thinking. A lot. About what happened yesterday." _Not __really __a __lie._ "It just seemed so surreal, y'know?" _Sort __of._

Ruka sighed and put his face in his palms, and Natsume immediately became suspicious. Ruka doesn't do that. Ruka _doesn__'__t _do that.

So... did that make them _both_ strange today?

"Look, Natsume. I know there are things you'd rather not tell me, and I'm fine with that, because _hell_, there are things I don't tell you. But nothing has made you act this strangely since Aoi's fifth birthday party when she shoved cake down your shirt and said she'd set your bedroom on fire if you told anyone about it!"

Natsume's face heated at the unneeded reminder. "Shut up!"

Ruka's amused smiled drained away as the serious tone of the conversation returned. "I know, a dumb example. But you get my point."

Natsume looked to the ground, his silent way of saying, 'I know what your point is.'

Ruka sighed again (_again_) and raked a hand through his disheveled hair. _Again_, Natsume thought, _something __Ruka __would __never __do._

_There__'__s __definitely __something __up __with __him __today._

Despite Ruka's odd behaviour being dropped in only minute amounts, Natsume could pick up on every single one. They weren't labeled 'inseparable' for nothing. Unfortunately for Natsume, this applied the other way around as well.

"What is going on, Natsume?" Ruka's voice was almost pleading now. "I know you're hiding something. And judging by your behaviour, I'm guessing it's something pretty big."

"Pssh," Natsume snorted. _I__'__m __just __making __a __big __deal __out __of __nothing._ Natsume's face contorted into an uncomfortable grimace. _If __Ruka __finds __out __now, __after __all __this, __he__'__ll __think __I__'__m __making __a __big __deal __out __of __it __because __it__'__s __really __important __- __meaning __he__'__ll __think __I __seriously _love _the __girl, __which __I _don't_._

Natsume felt like sprinting towards the nearest tree and bashing his brains out against it, but in the current situation, he was forced to settle with dropping his head into his palms and groaning loudly.

It was only after he lifted his head fractionally to get a glimpse of Ruka's expression that he realised Ruka had done the same.

_All __right, __now __there __is _definitely _something __wrong __with __Ruka._ Natsume lifted his head up the rest of the way and shoved his hands into his pockets in the epitome of not caring. "Ruka?"

"Hnnn?" Ruka's muffled groan escaped the confines of his hands still plastered against his drooping face.

Natsume narrowed his eyes fractionally. He sucked in a mental breath and prepared himself for the worst. "Is it that girl?" He rushed, not quite sure if Ruka understood.

Oh, Ruka understood all right. His face shot up from his hands, which quickly flew to his sides balled into fists, and he stared at Natsume with rosy indignation, the almost blood-red blush evident on his pale face. "No!" he answered too quickly.

Natsume cocked an eyebrow, giving Ruka his signature _don__'__t-try-that-shit-with-me _look.

"... Y-yes," he muttered, averting his gaze to Natsume's left pocket. _Weird_.

"Thought so," Natsume murmured, almost smirking.

"I told you what was bothering me, so now you have to tell me what was-_is_ bothering you!" Ruka stated, his gaze now evenly matched with Natsume's own, a faint blush still resting on his porcelain skin at the lack of change in topic.

When Natsume proffered no explanation, Ruka indignantly yelled, "Equivalent exchange!"

Natsume sighed. "... That... That girl."

Ruka's eyes widened momentarily, before closing together in a fit of laughter.

"It's not funny!"

"Ye-ahahaha... Yes it is." Ruka grinned at Natsume.

"... We're both idiots, aren't we?"

"Yup." With a gentle shove, Ruka directed Natsume back toward the classroom.

* * *

><p>"And where have you two been?" Serina calmly met their gaze, knowing they weren't going to give her an acceptable answer but feeling it was proper to ask them first before she handed out detentions here there and everywhere. She didn't want to turn into Jinno.<p>

"Um... Out," was Ruka's hesitant answer, before abruptly apologizing and directing Natsume to sit down quickly without a fuss.

"Detention," Serina sighed, and turned back to face the board.

As soon as they were seated, Ruka discreetly leaned over and whispered in Natsume's ear. "So I wasn't the only one, then. That's sort of a relief."

"Sort of?" Natsume whispered back.

Ruka shifted in his seat. "Well... if we both go back to the garden, it'll just look much more suspicious, won't it?"

"You're an idiot. And how can you like that girl, anyway? She's just... _weird_."

"No talking." Serina's quiet voice rang clear in the classroom full of whispers, and there was a loud second-long chorus of "Shhh!" before silence returned.

The moment Serina began to speak again, Ruka burst into frantic whispers. "No she's not! You can tell just by looking at her that she really cares about the other girl, and she puts up a cold front just like you do, Natsume! I can tell if you got to know her she'd be really nice!"

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say."

"Natsume... Hey, you're not even listening!"

"I said no talking Natsume-kun, Ruka-kun!" Serina's voice was stricter this time, and she turned around to glare at them.

"S-sorry, sensei..." Ruka mumbled, and nudged Natsume to do the same, but he was having none of it. Natsume merely turned his head to gaze out of the window and grunted.

"I'll have to put you two in detention with Jinno tomorrow. I'm sure he'll think of some useful task you can do."

And with those words arrived the bell, ringing clear as day, and the muffled whispers turned into full-on shouts and laughter as everyone hurried to pack up their belongings and get to their next class - Ability class*.

Ability class was a fun class for most groups, something that was a welcome break from mundane lessons.

Well, _most_.

Natsume trudged towards the Northern Forest, wishing he could have that detention now rather than go on whatever godforsaken mission he was about to be told about.

Ruka accompanied him as far as he dared, not wanting to be late for his class and not wanting to come within earshot of Persona.

"I guess... I'll see you tomorrow?" _Because __we __all __know __Natsume __never __comes __to __classes __straight __after __Ability __class._

"Yeah. Bye, Ruka." Natsume gave a rare smile of encouragement - _he __was __going __to __be __okay, __don__'__t __worry __about __him _- and turned around before Ruka could respond.

"Bye," Ruka whispered, minutes after Natsume's slender form had disappeared into the darkness he was cursed to be buried in.

* * *

><p>Ruka spent the rest of the day wishing he could have spent it with Natsume.<p>

"What's up, Ruka-kun~?" Narumi's cheery voice lifted his spirits minutely - happy people always cheered him up, no matter how annoying they were.

"Nothing much," he replied, even though he knew there was no point in lying to someone who knew more about Natsume's situation than he did.

Narumi sighed, his smile becoming less outgoing and more encouraging. "If it's about Natsume-kun, you shouldn't be worrying. You know he can take care of himself. A little birdie told me this mission was rather easy - something about... _knocking __out_ half the guards beforehand."

Ruka looked up from Bunny, placed before him on the desk, to stare Narumi's sincerity straight in the eye. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Ruka smiled, the burden somewhat lifted off his narrow shoulders. "Thank you."

Narumi felt his usual brightness return. "No need to thank me - after all, isn't it my job to protect my students? Emotionally as well as physically." Narumi sent Ruka a knowing wink before skipping off to harass his next student.

Ruka faced Bunny again, stroking his fur softly with the brush, smiling at Narumi's childish sincerity. Because under that guise was a man who had seen many things, and a man who knew many things. And as much as Natsume hated his guts, Ruka knew he held some wisp of respect for his teacher - be it out of sympathy, pity or just pure idolisation. Narumi managed to always be cheery, no matter what he did or what he saw, and Ruka figured Natsume was jealous of that ability, because it was something Natsume could never do. Natsume was always just _Natsume_. And another thing that was just Natsume was the fact that he couldn't see that Ruka loved him because of who he was, and he always would. A Natsume like Narumi would just be plain _wrong_.

Ruka chuckled at the thought, attracting the attention of numerous girls scattered around him. However he remained oblivious, still stuck in the centre of the hazy, fast-paced swirl of childhood memories.

He closed his eyes and imagined Natsume's laugh - oh, how he _longed_ to hear that melody again - and his sly grin, completely giving away his plan in every detail. He pieced together the picture that was _Natsume_, and begged fate to _oh __god, __please_ let that girl give Natsume back his life. He'd noticed the way that auburn miracle was staring into Natsume's very soul, and the way Natsume's own eyes never left her figure. It was something Natsume had never shown before - sure, he'd had crushes and the like, as all boys do, but Ruka could tell. This was _something __else._

"Okay, everyone! Unfortunately, it's the end of the class!" There was a loud chorus of groans. "So I hope you behave during double math~!"

Ruka sighed at Narumi antics, temporarily diverting his attention away from his best friend. Natsume would survive. And if he didn't, Ruka would personally resurrect him himself.

It was a promise.

* * *

><p>"Why are you here, Misaki-sensei?" a curious girl called out.<p>

She was joined by, "Yeah, isn't Naru our homeroom teacher?"

Misaki sighed. "I'm here because Narumi's ill. I'll be covering for all his lessons today."

A silent, "Yes!" resounded through the room - although Anna and Nonoko were far from silent in their celebrations.

Ruka and Natsume exchanged looks of surprise. Narumi certainly didn't _look _ill yesterday.

The hushed whispers gradually increased in volume as Misaki ordered papers and files on Narumi's desk, wiping up the hot liquid when he split his cup of coffee.

After around five minutes, Misaki spoke up again, effectively silencing the rowdy pupils. "There is some vital information I have this morning."

The class stayed silent.

"Today, we are welcoming two new transfer students." Misaki made a gesture to the door left slightly ajar, and two rather gorgeous girls strolled into the room. "Would you like to introduce yourselves?" he prompted quietly.

The auburn-haired girl spoke up first, causing Natsume to almost faint in his seat. "My name is Mikan Sakura, and I'm fourteen years old. It's nice to meet you." She smiled mysteriously, almost visibly lighting up the room.

The other girl spoke up next, her lavender eyes piercing anyone they rested on. "Hotaru Imai."

There was a moment of silent awe at the two strikingly dissimilar girls standing in front of them, before it was broken by a hushed, "Hey, Hotaru, look," from the shorter girl, a pale finger discreetly pointed towards the back row.

A look of guarded recognition clouded her face as her gaze settled on the object of Mikan's surprise, and she didn't bother restraining her actions in the new environment. "Hello, Ruka."

Many of the girls looked dumbstruck at the new development, and green faces of jealousy were shared between them all.

"H-hello," Ruka murmured, a nervous smile creeping up on his face. As much as he liked the girl, she sure as hell was _scary_.

There was a gasp from Mikan, a look of excitement and happiness crossing her face as she stared at the apparently sleeping figure sitting next to Ruka, trying his best not to be seen and failing miserably.

"Natsume~!" The strange girl sung, shocking everyone in the class with her sudden mood swing from 'quiet' to 'drunk'.

She wavered in her spot slightly before jogging gracefully over to where Natsume was sitting and standing behind his chair, leaning over and staring thoughtfully at his upside-down features.

"What the hell are you doing?" Natsume growled, glaring at the face hovering inches in front of his own.

Mikan smiled. "Meeting you again!" She giggled. "Luckily there isn't any incense here this time."

Most of the class exchanged confused glances, Misaki included, and their confusion only increased when Ruka chuckled and the black-haired girl, still standing at the front of the classroom, smirked coldly, as if remembering a rather amusing but somewhat irritating event.

"R-right, everyone, settle down!" Misaki stuttered after he finally came back to his senses. "Now, are there any free seats anywhere?"

People glanced around the classroom - there had been an abnormally large number of transfer students this year, so all the empty spaces weren't so empty anymore.

That is, except the two on the back row.

Misaki sighed. "It looks like you two will be sitting next to Natsume-kun and Ruka-kun. I presume you won't mind, as you seem to know each other already."

Mikan gave a silent cheer, immediately plopping herself down into the seat to Natsume's left. Hotaru strode out of her position at the head of the class to take the remaining seat behind Ruka, who consequently blushed.

That fact didn't go unnoticed by the female population (Hotaru included), and their faces lit up red with anger and green with envy.

"How dare a mere transfer student claim him like that!" was not-so-quietly whispered on the front row. Hotaru sighed. Since when had she 'claimed' him? He was the one fawning over her.

"Now, to get on with the first lesson of the day - English. As you already know, I will be covering in Narumi's absence..."

The rest of the lesson went by unnoticed by the back row, the four clashing personalities causing a ripple of news and rumours throughout the school, even before the end of the first lesson.

"Mmm..." Mikan mumbled, only half paying attention to the lesson at hand - whenever she tried to concentrate, Natsume would rustle in his 'sleep' and she would, again, become highly aware of his presence. She barely understood the work in the first place - she did _not_ need this right now! "ARGH!"

The entire class jerked at the noise that was _definitely_ not part of Misaki's lecture, and turned to face the boiling mass of confusion sitting on the back row.

"Misaki-sensei, I don't get this at _all_!" she whined.

Misaki sighed. This was going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

><p>There was chaos in the classroom.<p>

"Where the hell _is_ he?"

"Maybe he's ill like Naru."

"Why, you _miss_ him, Mochu?"

"Like hell I'd miss that sadistic son of a-"

The door chose that exact moment to slam open (if that was even possible) and reveal the very person everyone had been hoping not to see.

"Class!"

"Yes, Jinno-sensei!" we drawled in response.

Class was a drag because of Jinno. Not that math class wasn't a drag without him, but with _it_ teaching, the class wasn't only boring but also incredibly intimidating.

Mikan seemed to feel this more than anyone.

Natsume repeatedly rolled his eyes in annoyance and shifted away whenever she attempted to subtly hide behind him, and at one point was forced to stamp on her foot under the desk - _hard_.

"Ow!" she shrieked, class abruptly pausing to make room for the unexpected scream of pain from the back.

"Who was that?" Jinno bellowed in anger, but when one of the braver students pointed towards a shuddering Mikan, his question became, "Why did you scream?"

"Because... Because Natsume stamped on my foot!"

Natsume rolled his eyes. "You were being annoying," he muttered loudly.

"That doesn't mean you can _stamp_ on my _foot_, you meanie!" Mikan yelled.

"Hyuuga! Out!"

Natsume rolled his eyes and exited the classroom, whacking Mikan on the back of the head as he passed behind her chair.

"And don't forget detention with me after school today! You too, Nogi!"

Ruka flinched. "Y-yes sir..."

Hotaru looked to him with interest. She didn't figure him to be the type to get into detentions with monsters like this. _Maybe __I __underestimated __him_.

The door slammed, and you could hear Natsume's heavy footfalls from all the way down the corridor.

Jinno waited until there was silence before he continued. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't interrupt my class again, _Sakura_."

"Y-yes of course!" Mikan squeaked. She didn't like this man _one __bit_.

"Permission to leave, sir?" The class turned at the icily smooth alto voice, having not uttered a sound since she arrived other than her name and the unexpected, "Hello, Ruka."

"Your name?"

"Hotaru Imai."

Jinno looked her up and down, as if judging whether she was fit to leave or not. "Permission granted."

"Thank you sir," she said formally, although not without a certain drop of hate in her tone that certainly didn't go unnoticed by the more observant students in the class.

She left swiftly and silently, sweeping across the classroom and out of the door without a sound. Most of the pupils were left awestruck - after all, it was every day you saw a girl like her.

"Hyuuga," she called down the hall as soon as she was out of earshot. "Hyuuga, I know you're there. There's no use in pretending you're not, no matter how good you are at skulking in the shadows."

Natsume emerged from behind a corner. _Damn, __she__'__s __good._ "What do you want, Imai?"

Hotaru stalked closer to him, wanting this conversation to be as private as possible.

When she reached an acceptable distance, she spoke in low tones - quiet and soft, but haunting in her cold presence. "I wanted to warn you."

Natsume snorted. "Thanks for the concern."

Hotaru threw him a glare of disapproval. "I'm serious."

Natsume dropped the sneer on his face and returned her cold gaze. "Warn me about what?"

"About Mikan." Natsume eyes widened ever-so-slightly. "She's not who you think she is. I'd advise you to stay away from her. You don't know what you're getting yourself into."

Leaving Natsume dumbstruck in the corridor, Hotaru strode down the hall and turned the sharp corner.

Natsume blinked.

_What __the __hell...?_

* * *

><p><strong>How was it? Did it meet your expectations? :3<strong>

*** I'm not quite sure if this is the proper name - and I know; _if alices don't exist in this fanfic _(which they don't, if you hadn't figured that out by now)_ then how can they have ability classes?_ Well, I'm not quite sure about that one. Yay for plot holes! :D**

**Because of the planning, updates should be slightly faster from now on. :3**

**(But they'll be even faster if I get lots of reviews~)**


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